Hardware 20 - What's with all the Kettle Leads?

After a brief hiatus, we've now returned with another hardware podcast, bringing Paul, James, Clive and Harry together to talk about the latest happenings in the hardware world.

First up on our list of topics is the AMD Radeon HD 6990. The card has firmly cemented itself at the top of the graphics card hierarchy, but how easy is it to live with such a card? We also discuss the unusual overclocking switch, which is a standard feature that also voids your warranty if you actually use it.

Next up on the agenda is Western Digital's takeover of Hitachi's hard drive division, as well as the fact that Sandy Bridge motherboards are finally back on the shelves. As well as this, we also discuss the plague of kettle leads that appears to be taking over our lab.

Finally, we comment on the news story we ran earlier in the week that detailed some purportedly leaked information about AMD's forthcoming processor line-up.

As always, we've also set up our weekly competition. The lucky winner will be able to get their hands on a Mionix Propus 380 mousepad, which will provide the perfect tracking surface for whichever mouse you choose to use.

As ever, the bit-tech hardware podcast features music by Brad Sucks, and was recorded on Shure microphones. You can download the podcast directly, listen to it in your browser or subscribe through iTunes using the links below. Also, be sure to let us know your thoughts about the discussion in the forums.

Kettle leads (strictly an IEC C15/C16) have a notch in the bottom and are fused at 13 amps.

Normal IEC mains leads (strictly an IEC C13/C14) don't have a notch and are fused at 5 amps.

Using an actual kettle lead on a PC will fit and work, but is a (minor) fire risk as it will not be properly fused. Please, can we stop promulgating this incorrect and (slightly) dangerous misinformation.